


I Smile

by FuryTigresse



Series: Devil May Cry: Song-Inspired [1]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: DMC 5 spoilers, Devil May Cry 5 Spoilers, Gen, Headcanon, Inspired by Music, Introspection, One Shot, Post Devil May Cry 5, Post-Game(s), Short One Shot, Song-inspired, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 14:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18718621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryTigresse/pseuds/FuryTigresse
Summary: [Spoilers for Devil May Cry 5] Even when everything hurts, even when he wants to cry, Dante smiles.





	I Smile

**Author's Note:**

> This has absolutely nothing to do with my previous DMC fics. Rather, it was inspired by a song, and I think I'm gonna start a series of short one-shots based on music. This one comes from Day6 "I Smile".
> 
> English isn't my first language, so let me know if you see typos and/or weird sentences!

_But today, I smile_  
_Even though it hurts, I smile_  
_In front of you_  
_I pretend that I’m fine_  
_I pretend that I’m okay_  
_I have to_

***

Nobody in the Sparda family was good with emotions. Amongst them, Nero was probably the best one, and even then, he had some… problems. Anger, mostly. One Hell of a temper. But he could still express his emotions. Sadness, joy, shyness, love. It was probably his bigger portion of human blood that allowed him to do it, because Vergil was always cold and stoic, and Dante...

Dante smiled.

Even when he didn't want to, he smiled. Even through pain, he smiled. He'd joke around even with blades sticking out of his body, he'd laugh at enemies even after they wounded him badly, he'd smile to hide his hurt when someone found an emotional weak point and used it. People took him for a carefree idiot who only ate pizza, drank beer, and read dirty magazines, and that was exactly what he wanted. So, no matter what happened, he smiled.

Dante wasn't quite sure when he had started doing that. Smiling even when he wanted to cry, that is. But he had a hunch it was at least partly because Vergil used to mock him when he cried as a kid after his brother was particularly mean to him. He had stopped crying after a while, and he had replaced the tears with a smile. It hadn't stopped Vergil from mocking him still, but Dante had felt better about it.

This habit had stuck afterwards. Even when his family was attacked and he had lost everything. Even when his mother had died and he had lost his brother, thought him to be killed by demons. Even when he had found himself alone, aware that he was tracked, aware that he had to change his name and start a new life as someone else despite being only eight years old. He _had_ cried at first; it had changed _nothing_. He had become Tony Redgrave after that, and Tony Redgrave didn't cry. He smiled, and he went through life like nothing mattered except _killing demons_.

And then, there was Vergil. Not dead after all, and ready to open a door to the Underworld or some bullshit in order to obtain more power. That had been quite the adventure. He had been relieved that Vergil was still alive, but deeply saddened that his brother had gone mad in his search for power. Yet he had kept joking around, smiling, and taunting his enemies. There were fights. He had lost, he had won. But mostly, he had lost Vergil by the end of it. Again. Sure, they had very different goals, but that was _Vergil_ , his _brother_ , his _twin_ , his _everything_. It felt terrible to be without him once more, even if that guy was a dumbass.

He had cried. Briefly. Until demons had attacked him and Lady, and he had forced a smile back on. No choice.

And then, years later, he had found himself fighting and defeating Nelo Angelo, only to find out that it was Vergil, only twisted, corrupted beyond recognition by Mundus. It had only fueled his desire to kill every demon out there, and his habit to smile despite the pain had only been reinforced by this event. But he had found ways to mourn anyway, to honor the brother he was certain he had killed, and to remember the mother he had lost. Books, mostly, as he remembered his twin loving them, while he'd drink red wine, the drink his mother, Eva, had loved. And sometimes he'd shed tears when remembering. But if someone came in? Beer, pizza, magazines, and a smile.

Eventually, he had met Nero, his _nephew_. He had allowed him to keep the Yamato. His twin's blade had to stay in the family. And who would better wield it than Vergil's own son? Mistake. Dante had felt like the worst person in the universe when, years later, Kyrie had called him to let him know that some demon had ripped off Nero's arm to take the Yamato. Sadness. Despair. Anger.

Guilt.

He had still greeted that frail man, V, with his usual carefree attitude. Until that guy had told him that Vergil was back, now a demon, and ready to destroy an entire city and steal the blood of its citizens in order to gain power. That fucking idiot. Why was he so hungry for power? Why was he even back? Sure, Dante was relieved to not have committed fratricide, but that didn't change the fact that it was apparently the _only_ solution to stop his dumbass brother once again. Damn it.

He probably should have been more skeptical about it. He probably should have questioned V, asked him how the Hell he knew all of that. But he hadn't. Vergil was back, that was all that mattered, and he was now a demon. Not all that surprising, considering that his brother had been Mundus' strongest experiment. He was more surprised that Vergil had survived. But now he had to end his life, save the world from this madman's schemes.

He hadn't managed to smile when he had accepted the job. But he had taken it, both to protect the humans and to make sure that Nero would never have to commit patricide. The boy had lost his Devil Bringer, had lost the Yamato. He was mostly human. Mostly pure. Not like Dante. So it was the Legendary Devil Hunter's job to dirty his hands so that Nero wouldn't need to have his father's blood on his remaining one.

That sly V, though. Hiding the fact that he was Vergil too until it was too late for Dante to stop him. Maybe that was for the best. He probably would have ended the man right there and then if he had known, and then went on to fight the demon half. With both of them down, Vergil wouldn't have come back, and they wouldn't have been able to spend those weeks of brotherly bonding in the Underworld, fighting for the sheer fun of it. So it was a good thing, maybe. Hopefully.

Except that now, Dante was back... without Vergil. The bastard had opened a portal, kicked him through it, and closed it. And so Dante had lost his brother. Again. How many times now? How many times had he felt that exact same terrible pain of getting his twin torn from him? Why did he have to lose him again?

He still had a smile on when he picked up the phone, months after coming back.

"Devil May Cry."

His smile became genuine when he heard her voice. She wanted to go out somewhere, meet him there. Of course he'd go. He had no reason not to. After all, she was his One, his potential life mate, like Eva had been Sparda's. He had met her shortly after coming back, and yet he could never push her out of his mind. Her scent filled him with joy, and seeing her blurred the rest of the world, her inner light too bright for him to notice anything else. She was the most beautiful in his eyes, the smartest, the kindest. He would do anything to see her smile and hear her laugh. Of course, she didn't know he was Sparda's son. She didn't know he was part demon. She didn't know he loved her more than anything.

He arrived at the restaurant with his usual attire, although this time he had taken the time to accessorize a bit. Really, it just meant he had put on Dr. Faust before heading out. He hadn't taken the time to do anything else, since he didn't want to be late.

She smiled and laughed when she saw him, said that the hat looked great. She smelled like the sun, looked like it too, blindingly beautiful. Dante sat with her and they ordered some food.

She had great news.

She was getting married.

The world was crumbling, everything stopped moving, and Dante was pretty sure his heart stopped beating as his soul went and burned away into nothingness.

He couldn't feel anything anymore. Was that true pain? Was that suffering?

Dante didn't know.

What he did know, however, was that, from somewhere far away, he heard himself say "congratulations", and his lips curled up into a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry Dante, I love you but you were the best for this scenario TT_TT And this is also how I imagine Dante to be: a big goof on the outside, and also on the inside, but he definitely has more depth than just that.


End file.
